Close for Life
by Shiten
Summary: Shippo was left on a human couple's doorstep, grows up in a human town, and is eventually banished for his power. Lives in the wilderness for a while. until one day... Blade of Heaven crossover.
1. Prologue: Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto.

Ever since he was a kid, Shippo knew he was different. He was left on the doorstep of an old human couple. Having no kids they decided to raise him as their own. Despite his dietary needs of straight meat, his slower aging, and his fiery blue eyes he was treated relatively well for a while. Then the other kids started reaching adolescence and he was left way behind physically. Needless to say, he was picked on and beat up a lot by the bigger kids.

Then one day he saw a girl in the village that he had never seen before. Her name was Shirori and he fell in love with her the moment he saw her. It took him two weeks to work up the courage to even talk to her. When he finally did, a group of boys intercepted him on his way.

The leader of the thugs, a boy named Hiruu said, "What are you thinking? She is way too good for your kind, you little demon! Looks like we'll have to teach you a lesson once and for all. Get him!" With that they jumped him and began to beat him. They just kept kicking him while he was on the ground and there was no one around to stop them this time. He was going to die here, on the ground, like some kind of rodent.

"NO!" something inside him yelled, "They are the rodents! They are the ones who deserve to die!" With that he felt a great flame rise up inside him, fueled by his hatred, anger and fear. He had a feeling of pleasant warmth and felt unbelievably calm. The thugs backed away as the grass around him withered and died from the heat and little orbs of flame appeared. The boys turned to run away, but Shippo locked his gaze on Hiruu, all of his hatred and anger flowing into him like an electrical current until he was filled with the fire and burst into violent blue flames. Shippo's gaze rested on each of the boys, setting little fires on their bodies.

As suddenly as the flame came, it was gone, along with all the hate and anger it used. Shippo came to and, realizing what he had done, collapsed into a sitting position. There were people all around, horrified at the demonic spectacle before them. He was brought on trial and banished (mainly because they didn't have the guts to try and kill him). He wandered around for two years. In those two years he grew, taller and bigger, until he was about six feet tall and 190 pounds with hardly any fat on him. He also learned to summon and control the flame to an extent. In order to survive in the wilderness, he learned to live in the shadows. He lived alone for four years, perfectly content, having pushed the village from his mind. Until one day…


	2. Chapter 1: Capture

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto.

There he was, sitting in a tree, eating his dinner. Rabbit…again. He had rabbit every meal for the past two weeks and it was getting old. He had no choice though; his ambushes weren't turning up much lately. The only thing he could really use was a special sword that he needed to replace his old one. This sword, however, was different. Its dual blades were set next to each other, not on opposite ends of the handle. Each blade had a beautifully engraved heron at the base, and one on the handle. He hadn't tried to channel the flame through it yet. The last time he tried that the blade exploded, leaving him with many scars on his sides and chest. The sword itself did help though, its wounds were deep and close, and it seemed to never need sharpening. The food from the wagon raids consisted of very little meat, and what was there, was eaten very quickly. His thoughts returned to the meal in front of him, still rabbit. It was about half eaten, and he was still hungry. Just as he was about to continue eating, he noticed a movement in the clearing below. When he looked down, he saw a woman down there in the clearing.

"Dammit!" he thought, "Curse my running mind!" Now he had no choice. If he moved, she would see him. So he had to sit there, completely still, until she left. So he waited, and waited, and waited. Still she was there, walking around, assessing the clearing for something. Then she started to set up he camp from the bags at the side of the clearing, and he decided that he had to go for it. He stayed in the position he was in and just fell backward. She saw the motion but didn't know what it was. He landed on the ground silently and moved in a comfortable position. There he sat, and watched her form the edge of the clearing, just out of sight. She cooked some meat with some sort of special seasoning, and when the aroma of it reached his nose he remembered his hunger, and his stomached voiced its need with a growl. Her head jerked in the direction of his hiding spot. He froze and waited; staring intently at her to make sure she didn't see him. She gazed in his direction for a while then turned back to her meal. He gave a little sigh and waited for the opportune moment to leave. After a while he got hungry again and looked at his stomach, trying to coax it to stay quiet. When his attention turned back to her, she was nowhere to be found. He looked around for her but didn't see her anywhere. He waited for a while longer, and when she didn't turn up, he got up and turned to leave. Right when he turned his back to the camp he felt a sharp pain in the nape of his neck. Then he began to feel drained and really heavy. Eventually, he just blacked out.

When he woke up, he was shackled to a wooden chair with his feet above the ground. He struggled to free himself but it was no use, there was only one way. But just as he was about to use it, she walked out of the forest.

"Well, well. It seems the little fox has awoken," she said with a smirk when she saw that his eyes had opened. He struggled against the shackles some more, just for effect and was pleased when she jumped back a little. Then he actually looked at her. She was beautiful, about 5' 6", slender, long hair that was as black as the night, smooth skin as pale as the moon, and her eyes. Those eyes, as deep as the abyss of the sea, but as brown as newly melted chocolate, held him fast. He couldn't help thinking he knew her from somewhere. He caught himself and growled at her to show his hostility. She just smiled and sort of laughed to herself, then continued cooking a meal of meat and potato soup. She finished up and dished up a bowl for her and some in a little cup for him. She walked over to him and fed him a little as she ate some herself. The soup was delicious, she was smart enough not to feed him any potatoes and the meat was very savory. When the soup was gone she went into her tent to sleep. Now was his chance. He began to summon the flame and got a very devious idea of a way to escape. He channeled the fire into the bolts holding the shackles down but not the shackles themselves. Then he waited and even slept a little, until the sun rose and woke him up.

When he opened his eyes she was there, cooking breakfast. Again he was overwhelmed by the feeling that he knew her from somewhere. She finished her cooking and ate her fill before walking over to feed him. Although he desperately wanted to get free, the food did smell delicious, so he decided to wait and get a free meal. Then, just as she was putting the spoon back he lashed out with one hand, knocking the bowl and spoon from her hand, followed by the other, grabbing her around the throat and lifting her up to his eye level. The wooden bowl clattered on the ground as her feet were lifted up off the ground.

His voice was filled with anger and hate as he yelled at her, "No one bolts me to a chair! No one! Especially some little bitch that doesn't' have the guts to attack a guy to his face!" He spit in her face and was about to slit her throat when he looked at her eyes and was lost again. His face softened a little and she saw eyes that she remembered, kind eyes, beautiful eyes. His grip loosened a little and he threw her to the side. Without another word he picked up his sword and walked to the edge of the clearing.

Before he jumped up, he looked back and she could almost hear him say, "I'm sorry." Within three seconds he was out of sight, leaving her there on the ground.

"Was that really him?" she thought as she looked after him.


	3. Chapter 2: Reunion

_Sorry for the long wait. I'm just now starting to actually type out the story I've written. The others will come soon._

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

Back in his den, he cursed his unawareness as he rubbed his wrists. "Who was she?" He thought about when he left her on the ground. He almost thought he remembered her from somewhere. He was sure that she recognized him before he threw her to the side.

"Shit! Why can't I get her out of my head?" He had nothing better to do so he decided to hone his tracking skills, by sniffing her down. It wouldn't be very hard, as her scent was very unique. He picked up his sword and headed out into the forest. The Instant he got out of his hole and sniffed the air he smelt her. She was close, a little too close. It only took him about five minutes to find her camp and there she was. He watched her for a while when he noticed another scent, a man's scent. He smiled as he watched six bandits walk into her camp. Now he would see how she fared in face to face fights.

She noticed the bandits immediately and picked up the Tai-Chi sword that was next to her and prepared to fight them. Two lunged at her, swords drawn, screaming their heads off. She easily dodged the movements of their undisciplined attacks an counterattacked with two slashes of her own. One bandit fell to the ground, his right leg cut off at the knee. The other's sword fell to the ground, his arm and hand still attached. He watched from up on a branch ad noticed that as she fought the third, another one was sneaking up behind her with a sap in his hand. He almost jumped down and killed the dishonorable bastard, but part of him was glad that she was about to feel the same as he did, so he stayed there and watched as the sap connected with her head, making a dull thudding noise. He watched as she fell to the ground, and he watched as the bandits tied her up and began to loot her camp.

Part of him was saying that this is what she deserves, and yet part of him was screaming that no one deserves this and he should help. He almost left when he noticed a new smell. The musky smell of a horny man. It only took him a moment to realize what the bastards were planning to do, and at that point the voice saying that she deserved what was happening to her joined the other in screaming for him to help. His mind raced as he tried to think of something he could do. Then it came to him. It wasn't a sure thing, but it was her only hope. He couldn't take on all four of them using just the flame or the sword, and he couldn't use the flame and the sword at the same time. But if he could fuse the two. He formed the void as quickly as he could and sought the flame, easily finding it. It was more intense that it had ever been before, but that wasn't important at the time. He pictured his sword and pictured the flame fusing with it, just as he had done before. This time, however, the fire and the blade became one effortlessly. The preparations were complete, now he just had to hope that his new weapon would be enough.

He leaped off the branch at the bandits. His dual blades came down on the closest bandit's head as he landed. When his feet touched the ground the blade had sliced from the top of the bandit's head down to the middle of his abdomen. All was still only for a moment, and then bright blue flames erupted from the slices in the bandit's corpse. The others stood for a moment before charging him. As they came he made a few slices in their sides and the blue flames engulfed them. After only a few second there was only him, and a girl that was tied up and scared out of her mind.

He untied her and looked at her with gentle eyes. Abruptly she leaned in and hugged him. He embraced her out of instinct, more comforting than intimate.

The embrace continued for a minute longer in silence before she said, "Thank you, Shippo."

He pushed her away and looked into her eyes, "What did you call me?" His voice was deep and beautiful with the faint sound of a fox's yelp behind it.

She looked right back into his beautiful blue eyes and said, "I called you Shippo."

His look became one of confusion, "How do you know my name?"

"Don't you recognize me?" she said, searching into his eyes for some sign of recognition. He looked at her and began to see little things he didn't notice before. Her hair, her eyes, her voice, even her mannerisms reminded him of…

"I would never forget you, Shirori." They smiled at each other and embraced again. "I've missed you everyday," Shippo said, "not a day went by that I didn't think of you."

"I've missed you to, Shippo," she cried into his shoulder, "I never forgave Hiruu for what he did to you." They broke the embrace and looked into each others' eyes.

"I never want to be apart ever again, can I travel along with you?" His request delighted her to no end, until she realized the state her belongings were in.

"I don't know where I'm going. All my useful stuff was either stolen or destroyed by those thieves."

"I don't care where we go, as long as I can be with you."

"Then let's just leave. You lead the way." He gladly did so and led them to the east. Always into the east.


	4. Chapter 3: Meetings

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Naruto

It was just another day. Shippo went ahead to scout every once in a while, but he still couldn't find his way out of this dammed forest. Shirori walked on, and on, always to the east. Each day she hoped to find the edge of the forest, and each day she was disappointed. She was beginning to think that it was futile to hope for the end when Shippo ran back ecstatic. "Shirori, I found it! I found the edge of the forest!" He grabbed her arm and drug her out of the forest. Shirori stoop there in the sun for a full minute before saying anything. "About time! Jeez, it took you long enough," she said mockingly. "Aw shut up! I got us out didn't I?" he shot back. They laughed for a while and then started walking away from that damned forest for a change. After a while, Shirori spoke, "Shippo, I'm hungry. Think we could stop for a while?" "Lets get to that tree up ahead and then we'll stop" he replied. When they got to the tree, she sat down and pulled out their food. That was the one thing the bandits didn't ruin at all, so they had plenty of it. She fixed them each a lunch and they ate in relative silence. After the meal they got up to leave when the heard a voice from the tree. "I hope you enjoyed your last meal boy." Shippo immediately got on the defensive, "who's there?" A man jumped out of the tree and crouched there. "I am called Orochi, and I challenge you to a fight to the death!" Kakashi said calmly, pointing at Shippo. "I don't want to fight anyone," Shippo replied, "can we just leave?" Orochi laughed, "I'm afraid not. You see, I just ran out of supplies and have no money to buy more food. I'm sure your sword and that girl will fetch a fine price. When he mentioned selling Shirori, Shippo's looked changed from one of calm resolve to one of protection with inner rage. "No one talks about my friends as though they were property!" Shippo growled at the man in the tree, "I accept your challenge!" Orochi smiled as he jumped down from the tree, "Good, tell me when you are ready." "I am ready," Shippo said as he pulled out his sword and assumed the special stance his surrogate father had taught him. Shippo was the first to attack, rushing at Orochi with his sword behind him and his body weight leaning forward. Orochi dodged the first attack easily but didn't see the second coming and just barely leaned back in time. He was on his back, in the dirt with the fox demon standing over him, sword to his throat. "It's over," Shippo said. Orochi just grinned maliciously and a flash of light burst from his eyes. Shippo recoiled backward, hands pressed tightly against his face, "You bastard! What the hell was that?!" Orochi just laughed, to Shippo it seemed to be coming from everywhere, drilling itself into his head. Orochi ran up and punched Shippo in the chest. He sensed it to late and couldn't dodge it. Next, Orochi's foot collided with the side of Shippo's neck in a downward motion, forcing him to the ground. Still, all around him was Orochi's laughter, and then the keen and deep voice of his "father" rang through, "What are you doing? GET UP! Are you just going to let this punk beat you and take something you care for? SNAP OUT OF IT!!" and Orochi's laughter was silenced. Orochi hesitated for a moment. What was this disturbance he felt? He rationalized that it was the kit just giving up and waiting to die, so he decide to oblige him. He lifted his leg up to the highest it would go so that it would crush Shippo's skull on its way to the ground. "Time to die, little demon." He brought his leg down onto Shippo's head and found himself against the tree with a clawed hand against his throat. His captor's eyes glowed with a blue flame and his bared fangs were long and sharp. "You are to confident, human." Orochi smiled again, "and you are to assuming, demon." His hand darted up and grabbed a hold of Shippo's arm, pulling it away from his own throat. He slipped out of the choking grasp of the kitsune and dodged out of the way of a counter attack. "You assume that I am just a human bandit, many of which you have dispatched no doubt, but I am not just a normal human. I am what you may call a half-breed, but that doesn't exactly fit either. I have been combined with a snake by means of demon magic and now posses the speed and strength of a serpent demon." He laughed at the confused face on the kitsune. "I see you don't understand, let me show you." He rushed at Shippo with a speed so great; Shirori didn't even see him move. But when she saw the figures, it was Shippo who had the upper-hand. The demon had the man in a precarious position, his sword at Orochi's throat and a claw at his back. "I understand perfectly, what I was confused about was why would any man do that to himself?" Shippo said. Orochi replied with disdain, "I didn't do this to myself willingly. This condition was forced upon me. But since that time I have forgotten who I was and embraced my new power." In an instant he had gotten out of the position he was in and was on the other side of the clearing. "And now I see I will have to use a weapon against you, demon. You should feel honored, not everyone sees my sword unsheathed." Orochi said as he reached to his back and unsheathed a katana with an unusually long handle in the shape of a dragon. He rushed at Shippo and sliced into his midriff. Shippo dodged just in time to avoid a fatal wound but still became wounded in the process. He was getting tired; he had to end this quickly. It was very dishonorable, but Shippo had but one choice. He focused all the fire he had left into Orochi's blade. It glowed for a while before exploding, spraying shrapnel into Orochi's body and puncturing vital organs. Orochi stood for a while longer before collapsing on the ground. Exhausted, Shippo collapsed right after Orochi and passed out…


End file.
